Where the Magic Comes to You
by Ariana Deralte
Summary: Cinderella's gone missing so Sam and Dean go to Disney World.
1. Prologue

A/N: Thanks to Havenward for betaing. I've got about three quarters of this fic written but not typed up, so chapters will be posted whenever I find the time to do so (and send them to my beta). I wrote this on a whim while travelling, so chapters are short and will continue to be so. Sorry.

I'd like to post a disclaimer right now stating I haven't been to Disney World in several years now so my information is out of date, and I will be taking a few liberties in terms of plot (like apparently season passes have thumb prints now...).

(real) Disclaimer: Supernatural doesn't belong to me. Neither does anything Disney related.

* * *

Then

_Dean breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the credits to Dumbo began to roll. He didn't care that it was currently Sammy's favorite movie __– that scene where Dumbo got drunk was freaky. Not to mention it had led to Sammy innocently asking their father if that was what Dad saw every time he drank. _

_Sammy was snuggled up beside him in the hotel room's sofa chair. At five and nine years old respectively, they fit in the chair with room to spare. Dad was out gathering information, and Dean was supposed to get Sam ready for bed after the movie, but he didn't feel inclined to move just yet._

_Commercials came on. Dean really wanted a Hot Shot action figure, but Dad would never go for it. Maybe if he got cute, little Sammy to ask…The sounds of giant robots battling came to an end, followed by an advertisement for Disney World. It didn't appeal to Dean, but he could feel Sammy leaning forward when the screen showed a happy child and his parent soaring upwards in a plastic elephant._

_"Dean," said Sammy, and his eyes were shinning with hope, "Can we go to Disney__ World?"_

_Dean figured the only way that was going to happen was if Mickey Mouse got eaten by a werewolf. Still, Dean knew from experience he should nip this in the bud now before Sammy bothered Dad._

_"I don't think so, Sammy," he said. "Ol' Walt Disney and Dad had an Argument."_

_"Oh," said Sammy, losing interest once he realized it was impossible. Sammy had recently seen what happened when Dad argued with people. _

_"Hey, you go get ready for bed."_

_"Now?" Sammy pouted._

_"You need to sleep now if you want me to wake you for Transformers," said Dean, congratulating himself for being so good at dealing with Sammy. Who cared about Disney World anyway? _


	2. Chapter 1

**Now**

Dean stepped out of the shower and searched the foggy bathroom for a towel. He let out a growl when he found nothing but a tiny hand cloth. They had been in this hotel for too long. The irate maid they had grudgingly given their grungy towels to yesterday had never replaced them. He'd been too tired from the hunt last night to check. He hated chupacabra.

He thought about yelling for Sammy to get a towel through the door, but he figured streaking would be faster – it wasn't like he had anything Sammy hadn't seen before. Besides, his clothes were out there.

Strolling casually out of the bathroom, he headed for his bed. He had finished running a towel over his body and had dropped it to the floor before the inevitable happened.

"Dean!"

He gave his little brother his best puzzled look. "What?" He began to search through his bag. Where was his last pair of boxers anyway?

"You could warn a guy," complained Sam.

"I'm not ashamed of my body." There they were!

"Well, that makes one of us," said Sam. He made a face, then changed the subject. "I've found us another hunt."

"Already?" Dean was surprised at Sammy's zealousness. They had agreed to a few days downtime last night, providing Dad didn't send coordinates.

"A friend of a friend passed it on. It's in Florida, so we'll have a few days to relax along the way."

Dean had never seen Sam so casual about a hunt before. If he weren't so tired, he'd be suspicious.

"Where in Florida?" he asked. He didn't mind Miami, but there was no way he was going on a hunt in the Everglades again.

"It's in Lake Buena Vista," said Sam, reading the name off his laptop's screen.

"Where's that?" Dean pulled on his shirt and collapsed on the bed. He could nap while Sam showered.

"It's next to Orlando."

"Disney World?" asked Dean, wondering why Sam wasn't bursting to tell him the details of the case. Usually, Sam had listed everything but the victim's social security number by now.

Sam nodded. "Yeah." And maybe that explained it. Sam was just embarrassed that they were going to a corporate tourist trap – or at least the area around it. Come to think of it, he'd have to pick up a new credit card if they were going to afford a hotel in the area.

"I hate to break it to you, Sammy, but Scar's already dead. We don't need to hunt down evil, talking lions." Dean didn't have to look to know Sam was rolling his eyes.

"I don't want to hunt down Scar, Dean." Sam paused. "And I can't believe you've watched The Lion King."

In reality, Dean had been bored and channel hopping. So what if he hadn't changed the channel again after watching Simba's dad die?

"I knew a girl who was obsessed with Disney," he said instead, turning his head so he could look at Sam. That part was true. Freaky girl. "She got off on The Little Mermaid."

Sam shot him a sly look. "So you watched that too?"

"You should have seen her Ursula impression." He smirked.

Sam's look of disapproval was still on his face when he disappeared into the bathroom for his own shower.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. They're always appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 2

The Impala looked right at home on Orlando's gaudy streets – Dean always thought she looked best surrounded by neon lights. Speaking of which, he really needed to talk Sam into going to Vegas.

"So where to?" he asked Sam. He knew the details of the hunt – citizens of Lake Buena Vista, all twenty of them, were disappearing. One by one, they'd drop whatever they were doing and walk off into the crab grass.

Four people had vanished into the untouched miles of Florida wetland and wildlife that surrounded the town. They all left at different times, from different areas, and at different intervals. No one had found any bodies or any reasons why. It had been over three months since the first person disappeared.

"Follow the signs for Disneyworld."

"And then what?"

"Keep following the signs."

"That's not funny, Sam," said Dean.

Sam sighed. "I'm not joking. The City of Lake Buena Vista may have a small population, but it happens to play host to millions of tourists every year."

"They gave the land to Disney?"

"Give. Each year they give permission to use the land to a front for Disney. The Mayor and citizens live very well off the deal. Most of them work for Disney in one way or another too."

"So, maybe all the missing went to Disney World. It is the happiest place on earth."

Sam shot him a glare. "I don't think so," and here, Sam hesitated, "especially since Disney World's suffered at least one disappearance as well."

"What?" It was Dean's turn to glare. "Any reason you didn't tell me?"

"Well, you don't like Disney World," said Sam in a low voice.

"I don't?"

"You always changed the subject when I brought it up when we were younger. Took me years to notice," said Sam. He was beginning to look hurt.

And people wondered why Dean sometimes thought he had a little sister. "Yeah, sure, I don't care about the place, but it's not like I hate it." He took his eyes off the mini-van in front of him to look at Sam. "Can you picture Dad taking us to Disney World? I was just heading you off at the pass."

"Oh. Well, I'll still take the recognizance," said Sam, trying to act casual.

"Still want to fly with Dumbo?" teased Dean, but Sam only smiled.

"Something like that."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sam had Dean drop him off near the monorail to Disney World after explaining how to get to Lake Buena Vista from there. He was going to pay for his ticket out of his own pocket, but he considered it worth it to satisfy a deep seated curiosity. He had stopped talking about the place years ago because it seemed to annoy Dean, but it remained alive in his mind, branded there every year by dozens of his classmates' "What I did this Summer" reports. He realized, despite recent advertising, that the place was for kids, but the opportunity to see this strange new world was worth Dean's teasing.

His first year roommate at Stanford, Alex, wasn't someone he talked to often, even when he was still at Stanford, but they had kept up an email acquaintance. When Alex had passed on his friend who worked at Disney's 'hilarious email', Sam had been intrigued. Some research had turned up the Lake Buena Vista disappearances, but not a word from Big Brother Disney.

And yet Cinderella, at the end of her shift and still in costume, had walked off into a supposedly dead end drainage ditch and disappeared. Two other employees saw her do so, one of whom was Alex' friend. They had thought she was simply going for a cigarette, only later realizing that she didn't smoke. And yet, Disney was saying she had quit. Not that she had disappeared.

When he'd done the research for this hunt, he'd been surprised by how many stories – legends, really – revolved around Disney World. Half the rides had urban legends associated with them, and Disney itself generated its own mythology. Was Walt Disney really cryogenically frozen under the park, and did a hamburger really cost over ten dollars inside the walls? Sam was thinking "no" to the first and "yes" to the second.

He gaped in disbelief at the sheer amount of stuff the families around him were bringing in. A gigantic stroller nearly ran him over as he got off the monorail. Then there was a long wait in the hot sun for his ticket. He had been prepared for Dean's scorn, but he was surprised by how worried the woman behind the counter looked. It belatedly occurred to him that a young man getting a single ticket for the park with no family or friends in sight was unusual. He flashed her a conspiratorial smile. "I'm surprising my girlfriend. She's here with her family."

Sam wasn't as good at it as Dean, but sometimes, he could improvise with the best of them. The girl behind the counter, Mariette, softened. "You have a nice day," she said, handing him his ticket and scant change.

"Thanks."

He wandered in a daze down the main street. It was like entering a different world. He felt a pang of regret he had never managed to come here (or to Disneyland) with Jess.

Inside his backpack was Dean's backup EMF detector. Sam's plan was to wander the areas where Cinderella had disappeared, plus any rides with associated legends. If the EMF beeped, he'd just say it was his cell phone. He studied the giant map of the place, then headed off.

Several hours later, he was exhausted from pushing through crowds and sneaking around the employee areas (the ones he could reach). He couldn't believe how long the lines were. It took him three hours to get on Space Mountain, and the EMF never made a sound. He had managed the People Mover, but now it was already time to meet Dean and all he had to show for it was the dying batteries on the EMF.

His joy at seeing whole, normal families enjoying themselves had been replaced hours ago by annoyance at how whiny the children got when they were tired. He couldn't help but think that Dean had been right to keep John Winchester away from this place.

He made his dispirited way to the parking lot. The Impala was waiting in the Pluto section as they had planned. Dean had his seat back and his eyes closed. The windows were rolled down to catch the scant breeze.

Sam approached quietly, mentally running through his list of options for messing with his sleeping brother. Dean foiled that by opening his eyes just as Sam got close enough.

"You find out they have a height limit?" asked Dean.

Sam decided to ignore the taunt. "There's no EMF anywhere around Cinderella's Castle."

Dean smiled. "Where's the recorder? I think you need to repeat that."

"Getting hard of hearing in your old age?" Dean frowned for a second, and Sam counted victory as his. "I thought I'd try the rides with the most stories about them to see if I'd get a hit, but it took me four hours to ride two of them. We need to find a better way to do the rest."

"Already ahead of you, Sammy." Dean flourished two colorful pieces of paper at him.

Sam took them. "Season tickets?"

"Visited three of our victim's houses. The only thing they have in common is that they really like Disney World. The mayor said the other one was always going too."

"Great," said Sam. Dean could be very efficient when he wanted to be. "Maybe there's some spirit praying on the emotionally susceptible somewhere in the park"

"Low level hypnotism," said Dean. "Could be a few different things. No EMF in the houses."

Sam nodded. "Did they give you the season passes?" Dean had been posing as a private investigator hired by one of the relatives of the missing people. Perhaps the mayor had been friendly.

Dean shook his head in mock disappointment. "Left them out in the open while I was looking around the house. Does that count as giving them to me?" Dean didn't wait for an answer. "Which is why you'll have to turn on the charm before we go in again, _Samantha_." He rolled up the windows to the car while Sam looked over the top pass. There, in neat type, was the name Samantha Johnson.

"Dean!"


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to my beta, Havenward. I'm rather busy with a dissertation atm, but I suppose I will eventually get around to finishing this... Thanks to all my reviewers:)

* * *

"Dude, why do I have to be some sort of cripple?" asked Dean. They were waiting for their complementary wheelchair. Dean had his foot in a light cast and was leaning on Sam in the absence of a crutch. Sam had refused to let him use a stolen golf club as a cane – said it wouldn't be authentic.

"Here's your chair. Make sure you return it when you leave. Have a great time!" said the smiling employee, or 'cast member' as Disney creepily referred to them.

"We will," said Sam with a big smile, as if he was attempting to win some sort of smile-down contest. "Leroy was worried he wouldn't be able to ride 'It's a Small World' because of his leg."

The cast member just smiled, as Sam pushed the chair away as fast as possible. Dean twisted around to glare at Sam, though the angle made his neck hurt. Usually it was him making fun of his little brother, but he had already had a great time having a go at "Samantha" at the gates. "Well, Sammy, if I ride 'It's a Small World', you're going to have to check out the Dumbo ride, and those spinning teacups they always put on commercials." There was no way 'It's a Small World' was as bad as anyone over ten said it was, and Dean thought it would be a hell of a lot less embarrassing than riding in a flying elephant.

Sam looked tolerant, which was never a good sign. "Dumbo and the teacups are outside so we don't have to ride them, but 'It's a Small World'? That's all yours if you want it, Dean."

"Tough luck," said Dean, thinking fast.

"What?"

"I won't be able to get on the ride without your help."

"I hate you," said Sam.

* * *

On their third day in the park, they reached a new level of desperation. Dean still couldn't believe they'd sat through an entire performance of the Country Bears.

"I think I need a whole bottle of tequila to erase the past hour from my mind," said Dean, staring longingly at the Tiki Bar.

"We have 18 dollars between us. At their prices, that's a drink each," pointed out Sam.

Dean threw a frustrated punch at a fake parrot, which caused those few visitors not absorbed in their own drama to stare. Sam gave his best 'we're harmless and he's just stressed' smile to the crowds who shuffled on past. They heard a mother admonishing her daughter as she dragged her by, "You do not stick your hand up Tigger's butt, young lady!"

"That's it," said Dean, and rolled off towards the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Sam followed. He'd never admit it, but he was very impressed by how well Dean handled a wheel chair at this point.

They had been on every ride in the park by now. Dean had ridden Space Mountain and Splash Mountain several times, insisting that something might be hidden in the dark. Sam couldn't prove it, but he was certain Dean had ridden the Buzz Lightyear ride twice because "a friggin seven-year old" beat his score the first time. Meanwhile, Sam had been impressed in spite of himself by the effects in The Haunted Mansion; he wished ghosts always looked that good. He had almost gotten thrown out of the park yesterday while doing readings in Mickey's Toontown since one woman thought he was recording her children.

Dean rolled up to a wall, and after a quick look around for any cast members, rammed his chair into the wall, making a hidden door pop open. By this point, they knew where all the secret entrances into "behind the scenes" were. They both slipped in and found themselves in a bare, white hallway. Dean stood up. "We need costumes," he muttered, looking both ways. Sam scanned the floor. There was dust from people's shoes, and it was definitely thicker to the left.

"That way," Sam said, pointing left. Dean nodded, and wheeled the chair along with them until they hit a storage closet where it was roughly shoved inside. They came around a corner. One direction led to faint sounds of "yo ho ho" while another was a dressing room for the cast members. Sam saw Dean considering Jack Sparrow's costume. "If we dress up as someone popular, the crowds out there will mob us," he warned.

Fifteen minutes later they were running down the underground hallways dressed as pirate cast members.


End file.
